Aggarwal’s collecting cash and hoarding what he can. Ola has become more prudent with its spending, cutting incentives for drivers and trimming subsidies for both ride-hailing and food-delivery businesses.

The founder of SoftBank Group Corp added about 1.65 trillion yen ($15 billion) to the market value of his company on Thursday — by unveiling a plan to buy back shares worth about a third of that amount. The value of Son’s stock in SoftBank rose by about $4 billion on Thursday.

Masayoshi Son has been able to build up a significant shareholding in India’s most valued internet and technology companies, like mobile payments giant Paytm, hospitality company Oyo and ride-hailing major Ola

The fresh news is that SoftBank plans to commit $2 billion more toward WeWork — scaled back from what was discussed as a $16 billion investment that could have left SoftBank as the sole outside stockholder in the young company.

Recent regulatory changes in Japan that will come into effect in the next two years are expected to accelerate a shift to digital payments, already prompting huge interest from a variety of players including banks.